"Chief of War" actor Siua Ikaleʻo shares journey to playing Nahi

When actor Siua Ikaleʻo auditioned for “Chief of War,” he didn’t imagine playing the role of Nahi, the younger brother of Kaʻiana, played by Jason Momoa, in the Apple TV+ mini series. Instead, he auditioned for the role of King Kamehameha I. And later, for the part of villian ʻOpunui.

But it was trying to get into character for the role of a villian that actually landed him an even larger role in the series.

“Chief of War,” which launched its first episodes on Aug. 1, tells the story of Kaʻiana, played by Momoa, as he tries to unify the Islands before Western colonization in the late 18th century. The mini-series was written and executive produced by Momoa and Thomas Pa‘a Sibbett.

ʻOpunui is one of the warriors, who appears at the end of the series as conflict heats up between the aliʻi of Maui and Hawaiʻi Island.

“ ʻOpunui is intense,” Ikaleʻo said. “Very, very gross. So I picked up the guitar and I started singing the dialog and just having fun with it, just to decompress.”

That was the video his manager forwarded on to the casting team. A few weeks later, they asked him to audition for Nahi.

“I don't advise any upcoming actor to do something as wild as that,” Ikaleʻo said. “But apparently they saw something when I did that song and they thought about Nahi. They came back a whole month or something later and said, ʻHey, we would like you to try out for Nahi?’ ”

Being a part of a show like “Chief of War,” was on Ikaleʻo’s vision board, he said.

“When I got the role, I was excited because it was on of my bucket list, or my vision board, coming into this business as a professional to be a part of a Polynesian story,” he told Aloha State Daily. “When I say I wanted to be a part of the Polynesian story, I had in mind that I might be in something small and build up to something in my journey. But the year I decided I was going to pursue this, the first thing I got was ʻChief of War,’ so that was nuts.”

While waiting for the Apple TV+ series to start, Ikaleʻo also booked a role in an episode of NCIS Hawaiʻi, where he plays the hit man Ricky Sio.

Prior to these roles, Ikaleʻo had already done short films, student films and independent films. He also joined First Take Acting School, where he would do scenes and “learn along the way,” he said.

As for his first interactions with Momoa? Ikaleʻo calls himself “a six-foot-six, 300-plus pound super fan.”

“I am a fan of his — not just in the sense of his acting — but his creative side,” he said. “His aloha for Hawaiʻi. I get to see all of that, and it's a beautiful thing to to be around.”

Ikaleʻo hopes “Chief of War” sparks conversations.

“This word has been thrown around, but conversations,” he said. “Just these conversations about not just the show, but: Is that accurate? Is that real? Did that really happen that way?”

He also hopes kids can see the series — if they are allowed, given some of its adult themes — or when they are older and “be inspired that they can be successful,” he said.

The actor has already lined up his next role. He will be part of the series “Nemesis” on Netflix. Additional episodes of “Chief of War” drop every Friday through Sept. 19. Watch “Chief of War.”

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